Stevenage has the second-highest rates of fly-tipping in the East of England region, analysis of new data has revealed.

Reliable Skip Hire analysed data provided by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and found that only Peterborough had recorded more fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 people in 2021/22.

Across all types of fly-tipping, there were 3,223 incidents recorded in Stevenage in 2021/22, equivalent to 36.08 per 1,000 people.

That rate was significantly higher than the average for England as a whole, which was 19.07 incidents per 1,000 people.

The government data, provided by local authorities, suggests that Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) did not issue any warning letters, statutory notices, or Fixed Penalty Notices in relation to fly-tipping in 2021/22.

Responding to this story, a spokesperson for SBC said: “Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, and it blights our town and green spaces.

"Last year, we were one of only 11 councils in the country to receive funding from the Fly Tipping Intervention Grant, which supported projects trialling approaches and interventions to prevent or address the issue of fly-tipping.

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"We installed the mobile CCTV cameras at known fly-tipping hotspots, and put up signage that warns potential offenders of the fines related to fly-tipping around town.

“Officers have also been working with partners to address the issue of fly-tipping, and educate the public on how to dispose of their waste correctly, which includes the build-up of recyclables at bring back sites.

“In 2022/23, we received 470 reports of fly-tipping in Stevenage, this was a decrease of 90 compared with 2021/22.

"Of these reports, in 196 cases we were able to identify the perpetrator and got them to remove the waste themselves, and we issued four Fixed Penalty Notices. One case is currently being investigated by the police.”

It is understood that the discrepancy between SBC's figures and those provided to the government is caused by SBC having their own benchmarking system.

After Peterborough and Stevenage, Norwich, Welwyn Hatfield and Luton were found to have the highest fly-tipping rates in the East of England, while West Suffolk, Uttlesford and South Cambridgeshire had the lowest rates in the region.

Paul Bennett, operations director at Reliable Skip Hire, commented on the findings: “Fly-tipping in England is a growing concern. The data shows that there were around 714,000 incidents of fly-tipping recorded in England in 2012/13, a figure which has gone up to more than one million in 2021/22 - more than a 50 per cent increase over ten years.

"More than £7 million in fines have been handed out during that period, and it’s important for people to note that there are legal and responsible ways to dispose of waste and unwanted goods which won’t damage public spaces or break the law.”